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losing any of the following units is, though not catastrophical, very bad and will severally
diminish your chances for success:
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the flottilla (gunboats and steamers)
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engineers (don't waste them
building cities or railroads on impossible terrain)
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heavy artillery
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the Sirdar, this will diminish your victory points
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3x objectives are in CAPITALS, most other cities
are 1x
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watch out for the cataracts! They sometimes become unnavigable. This is done by
changing terrains. Any unit accidentaly there will be destroyed. See this as a "casualty"
of the unpredictable cataracts.
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railroads form a vital part in this scenario. You can never hope to win this scenario on
time without railroads. Keep special care, therefore, not to lose your engineers, or to
found cities with them, as you'll only get 1 or 2 extra during the whole game. An engineer
can build a railroad in just one turn.
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railroads are used as in the normal games roads will be. They do not have unlimited
movement, but instead cost 1/4th movement point.
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the desert east of Merowe is composed of Unstable Ground. Do not even try to build a RR
here, as your engineers will spend the rest of the game on just one square. Instead, build
a RR, as historically happened, straight trough the desert from Wady Halfa or Korosko to
Abu Hamed.
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After the failed attack of the Dervishes on the Suakin Province at the start of the game,
make sure you kill Osman Digna. Not only is a strong unit left alive dangerous, but he will
be back later, so having two of him is not very rationally explainable.
The flags of the different Emirs, by the way, are not invented by me, but were really used.
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Be careful of your flottilla. It is one of your most powerful weapons.
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This is a war-game only. Do not try to build buildings or research technologies. Actually,
there is not a single tech you can research. How could it, in a timespan of barely 4 years?
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You can always spend some money on buying a unit, or disbanding useless ones. Though the
Soudanese Infantry unit is very expensive, you should make a lot of money in this scen,
which might allow you to buy one or two of them.. in the whole scenario. Do not count
on these units though.
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get to understand to AI. Attack at one place to distract them for instance away from
the desert railway. Though your engineers are regular military units with engineering
duties and therefore their defense is reasonable, they cannot hope to survive two
attacks.
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You can also build your Desert Railway from Merowe (right Nile bank, of course) to Wad
Hamed, thus leaving Berber and Abu Hamed uncaptured on your left and going straight for
the capital. This is historically very realistic, and even was considered by Kitchener,
but not done finally. Also, in this scenario, you need objective points, which you would
not pick up in that way. Still, it's a strategy worth thinking about.
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Your forces in the Suakin Province will soon be free, as soon as the AI is distracted to
the north, and will arrive around the same time as the rest of the army near Berber.
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Omdurman is tough to capture, but you should have enought reinforcements to take it. Do
not however wait too long for the rest of your troops. Though they mostly already are
veterans and can give a significant addition to the fighting, your time is very limited,
and this might cost you objective points.
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From Atbara, build your railway on the right bank. Ferry your troops over to near Metemma
and make a RR to Wad Hamed. From there to Omdurman is the easiest way, with the least
"ferrying over" time thrown away. Ferrying over costs a lot of time, as Gunboats can only
carry one unit, and therefore can at most ferry 2 units over in one turn.
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There are some "trigger" units you may encounter. They are easy to destroy, but you can't
usually pass them without attacking and they are vital for fun gameplay.
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Do not forget to capture Fashoda (coordinates: 62,132)! It'll be fun.
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You'll probably never capture El Fasher, but how can you hope to control a whole country
in some little time? It's done deliberately so that the enemy will never be totally beaten.
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Suakin is a tricky situation. Do not make a sortie until you are sure you're safe. There
are some forts where you can find shelter.
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Most terrain requires just one turn to lay a RR. Exceptions are Sand Dunes, Mountains and
Savanne. Unstable Ground is designed to take a LONG time, thereby discouraging its crossing
by RR. It's perfectly safe to cross without RR, though, but it'll allow you one move only
per turn.
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Native Guides are the only units you
can reasonably build in this scenario. They are quite useful, especially in
the beginning.
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Though nothing happens when your Sirdar (Kitchener) unit is killed, you will be limited to
a victory one "group" lower!! (see under 4.: Goals) He is your strongest unit, though, so
he may almost get killed a number of times.
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Some wonders lose their abilities when the British have advanced to a certain point in the
campaign (without necessarily capturing the city of the wonder itself). Some Wonders,
though, will keep their abilities even when captured by British.
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Terrain is mixed through a new way. This way, pieces of a terrain type are more clear when
next to a square of the same terrain. This is not the case for Ocean, Hills, and Mountains.
Have a look, and see.
